Multilevel orthopaedic surgery in children with spastic cerebral palsy

Introduction The purpose of the article was to review the modern literature on the role of multilevel single-stage interventions in the surgery of secondary orthopaedic complications in children with cerebral palsy. Material and methods The review was done using the databases of the current sources of scientific information including PubMed, Scopus, ResearchGate, RSCI and Elsevier, Springer publishing products. A report made for the first educational meeting of the European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society held in Russia at the Ilizarov Center in 2021 was used for the contribution. Results and discussion The article discusses terminology, indications, particular techniques and early postoperative period, long-term outcomes of multilevel orthopaedic interventions and aspects of iatrogenic orthopaedic conditions in children with cerebral palsy. Conclusion Multilevel intervention is the surgical procedure of choice for the correction of secondary orthopaedic complications in patients with cerebral palsy. The success of the surgery would depend on adequately identified indications and quantitative values of the correction to be performed on the basis of 3D gait analysis, the compliance with specific technical requirements for the procedure and an early rehabilitation program. The strategy of multilevel interventions suggests the greatest possible reduction in the number of orthopaedic surgeries and can be considered successful if the patient undergoes a maximum of two multilevel reconstructive interventions in the childhood.